Tinning apparatus



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Patented May 7, 1929.

UNITED STA S PATENT OFFICE.

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} Application fled December 12, 1024. Serial No. 755,498.

This invention relates to the manufacture of tin plate, and more particularly to a novel tinning apparatus which will provide for scouring or scrubbing the plates while they are immersed in the tin bath to remove any foreign matter carried on the surfaces of the plate and thereby provide a better coating of tin on the plates than has been possible with the apparatus heretofore in use. to It has been discovered that pin holes and small uncoated areas on tin plate are due in a large part to the lack of clean metal to metal contact during the tinning process.

1 Any dirt, dried flux or other foreign substances which become attached to the surface of the base keeps the molten tin away from the area alfected,'and leaves a defect in the coating. 1 have also discovered that if during the early stages of the tinning operation, and while the flux is still performing its normal function, there is provided a mechanical scouring or scrubbing action on the surface of the plates, the dirt, particles of dried flux and other foreign substances will be removed and a erfect coating will be formed. In t e drawings, Fi re 1 is a sectional side elevation on the line I of Figure 3 showing a tinning pot constructed and arranged in accordance with my invention Figure 2 is a sectional side elevation on the line 11-11 of Figure 3, showing the gearing by which the scouring or scrubbing rolls are driven.

Figure 3 is a sectional end elevation, the section being taken on the irregular line III-III of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional side elevation on the line IV-IV of Figure 3, showing further details in the driving mechanism for the scouring or scrubbing rolls.

The apparatus shown in the accompanying drawings consists of a standard and well known form of tin pot A, which is separated transversely by a vertical wall or partition 2 into compartments B and C. The lower edge of this partition 2, which terminates above the bottom of the tinning pot, and the upper edge of a rib or projection 3 on the to bottom of the pot, define the width or vertical dimension of a narrow assage or open- 1ng B through which the p ates, while submerged m the bath of molten tin, pass from the compartment B into the compartment 0 of-the pot A.

The side walls of the compartment C at the exit end of the pot are extended upward- 1y, so that this compartment is considerably deeper than the compartment B, this old and well lmown construction makin itpossible to mamtaina bod of oil, genera 1y palm oil, of the requisite 'epth or thickness, on top of the molten tin in the compartment C. The levels at which the bath of molten tin is maintamed in the pot are indicated by the line X-X in Figure 1 of the drawings,- and a thin layer of flux H is maintained on top of the tin in the compartment B on the entrance end of the pot. Due to the weight of the body of oil on the tin in the compartment C, the level of the tin in this compartment is somewhat lower than that o a the molten bath in the compartment, B.

Located immediately above the upper edge of'the compartment B, at the plate entering side ofthe tinningwpot, is a pair of spring pressed feed rollers E composed of rollers 5 and 6, which are arranged to move the pickled and washed plates forwardly and downwardly into the tin pot at an angle to the horizontal, through the layer of flux H into the molten tin in the compartment B.

Positioned within the compartment B be low the tin level are two pairs of feed rollers F and G, consisting of rollers 8 and 9 and 10 and 1-1, respectively. The rollers of each of said pairs of rollers F and G are adapted to have difl'erential surface speeds and thereby pro- 'duce a scouring or scrubbing action on the surfaces of the plates passing therebetween, since such plates will move between said rollers at a mean speed relative to the surface speeds of said rollers.

It will be understood that rollers 8 and 9 and 10 and 11 may be of different diameters in 9 order to provide the c .fierential surface speeds, or they may be of the same diameter and be driven at different speeds as illustrated in the drawings.

In the apparatus illustrated in the drawings a drive shaft 14 is arranged transversely of the ot A, and is provided with a bevel gear 15 w ich meshes with a bevel ear 16 on a shaft '17, which extends along t 0 side of the machine and carries bevel gears 18 and 19 which mesh with bevel ears 20 and 21 on the shafts of rollers5 an 8, respectively.

The roller 5 is provided at its end opposite the gear 20 with a pinion 23 which meshes with a pinion 24 on the roller 6, so that both rollers 5 and 6 are positively driven.

The roller 8 is provided with a pinion 25 on its end opposite the ear 21 which pinion is in mesh with a smaller pinion 26 on the shaft of roller 9 sothat the rollers 8 and 9 are both positively driven, but the roller 9 will have'a materiall greater surface speed than "the roller 8. T e pinion 25 preferably has twenty-two teeth while the fifteen teeth. I

The roller 10 is provided with a small pinpinion 26 has .ion 27 of the same size as the pinion 26 and.

meshes with a pinion 28 on the roller 11 which preferably is of the same size as the pinion 25. An intermediate pinion 29 is mounted between and meshes withthe pinion 25 on the roller 8 and pinion 27 on the roller 10, so that all four of the feed rollers 8, 9 and 10, 11 are positivel driven from the shaft 17, and the rollers 0 each of the pairs F and G are driven at differential surface speeds.

It will also be noted that the rollers 8, 9, 10 and 11 are located so close to the flux H, that enough flux will be carried down on the surfaces of the plates to maintain the rollers F and G in working condition. That is supply enough flux to prevent tin on the rollers from flaking off and in this way bare the surfaces of the rollers, which would result in making defectively coated plates.

Three sets of feed-out rollers I, J, and K are provided which are located within the body of oil maintained on top of the tin in the compartment 0 of the pot A. The sets of rollers I, J and K are formed of rollers 30,

31; 32, 33; and 34, 35, respectively, which are arranged to not only feed the tinned plates out 0 the tin pot, but also act, to squeeze ofi surplus tin from the smooth alloy coated surfaces of the plates assing upwardly out of the tinning pot. T e body of oil in which these rollers are submerged acts to prevent the molten coating on the surfaces of the plates from contacting with the atmosphere, until after the excess coating has been removed.

The sets of rollers E, F, G, I, J, and K are so located and spaced within the pot that the plate being tinned will be engaged in the bite of the succeeding set of rollers before it leaves the bite of the preceding set.

In operation, the lates will be fed singly into the bite ofthe ro lers E, either b hand or by any known form of mechanica feedin mechanism. The rollers B will engage and feed the pllates downwardly and forwardly through t e flux H and the tin in'the compartment B, into the bite of the rollers G which in turn will feed them into the bite of the rollers F. The rollers of each of the pairs of rollers G and F, due to their differential surface speeds will cause the plates to move therethrough at a mean speed relative to the surface speeds of said rollers, thereby causing the rollers to rotate on the surfaces of the plates and scour or scrub said surfaces.

The scourin or scrubbing action of the rollers G and will smooth the plate surfaces and remove any particles of dirt, dried flux, or other forei n matter adhering to the plate surfaces, whic matter if it were not removed would interfere with the coating of the plates and cause the formation of pin holes and other defects.

The rollers G and F are located sufficiently close to the flux that the flux is still active on the plates, and serve to clean the plates at a sufficiently early stage in the tinning operation that the plates may take on suflicient tin to coat the places from which the foreign matter is removed after the areas thus cleaned pass from between the rollers G and F.

The rollers G and F, feed the lates forwardly from the compartment into the compartment C, where the tinnin operation is completed, and then into the ite of the feed-out rollers I, which then feed the plates upwardly throu h the oil and remaining feedout rollers J and K and out of the pot A.

B the inclusion of the step of scouring or scrubbin the plate surfaces in the early stages 0% the tinning operation the tinned surfaces of the plates are materially improved, and pin holes and other defects due to foreign matter adhering to the plate surfaces are eliminated. v H

While I have shown and described one specific embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto, since various modifications may be made without departing from the scope there- 'of as defined in the appended claim.

I claim- A tinning apparatus comprising, in combination, a tinning pot having a molten tin bath therein, a transverse wall separating said pot into compartments, said wall having an 0 ening below the upper surface of the tin ath forming a passage throu h which plates being tinned are transferre from one compartment to the other, a body of flux in one and a body of oil in the other compartment, said flux and oil bodies being supported on the uper surface of said tin bath, feed-in rollers ocated above the level of the tin bath and flux in the flux containing com artment and adapted to feed plates into an through the flux and into the tin bath, at least one other pair of feed-rollers in said flux containing compartment and submerged in the tin bath,

each of the rollers of said last named pair of passing between them and thus remove forrollers having a difierential surface speed, eign matter therefrom, and feed out rollers and being adapted to engage with and feed in said body of oil ada ted to engage and feed 10 the plates being tinned through the tin bath the plates out of the oil 5 and into the body of oil, and said rollers due In testimony whereof I have hereunto to their diiferential surface speed being adaptsigned my name. ed to scour or scrub the surfaces of the plates RUFUS E. ZIMMERMAN. 

